Maqbool Fida Husain (India, 1915-2011)

Untitled (Horse)

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private UK collection

The sound of galloping horses seemed like a tremor to me.
Its echoes do not seems to stop.
All these horses running together raise a cloud of dust.
Duldul - thoe horse from the battle of Karbala,
Ashwamedh - reaching up to Luv and Kush.
Luminous in their seven rainbow colours.
Horses harnessed to the chariot of the Sun God,
Bursting through the sky.
Passionate horses, screaming with desire.
The Chinese terracotta horses,
Folk horses from the village of Bankura,
Horses, with the beauty of a woman and the valour of a man.

M.F. Husain (R. Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, Books Today Group, 2001, p. 114)
Husain's rapture with the horse motif was formed after the recurrence of this symbol at numerous points in his life. Husain's earliest noted influence was as a child during the Islamic month of Muharram. A procession to mourn and commemorate the Prophet's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali, would take place through the streets carrying a tazia or effigy of Husayn ibn Ali's horse.
In 1952 Husain visited China and was struck by both ancient Chinese pottery and the paintings of his contemporaries in China. The dramatic monochromatic lines had the deftness of certainty yet also the fluidity of motion.
"...Husain's horses are subterranean creatures. Their nature is not intellectualized : it is rendered as sensation or as abstract movement, with a capacity to stir up vague premonitions and passions, in a mixture of ritualistic fear and anguish." (R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur, Husain, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1972, p. 42)
This oil on canvas piece in excellent condition depicts one or possibly two rearing horses. The vibrant yellow horse in the background appears to be a metaphysical rearing form, an ephemeral being. Both are magnificent and noble. The horses embody Husain's own rising ambitions and his determination to achieve them. Theatrical and striking, this work is the quintessential Husain painting.